


Caught

by TheStraggletag



Series: Zootopia!AU [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Lion!Gold, Okapi!Belle, Weirdness, You guys keep making me do this to Emma, Zootopia!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 00:19:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14248971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStraggletag/pseuds/TheStraggletag
Summary: Emma Swan thinks the resident apex predator, Mr Gold, is rather worryingly-interested in the local librarian.She's not wrong, but she's not exactly right either.





	Caught

Emma was used to having to prove herself and ascertain her authority. Thankfully Sheriff Graham was open-minded and treated her fairly, going as far as asking her to please tell him if any of his quirky lupine habits made her uncomfortable. The Mayor seemed way less thrilled to have her as new Deputy Sheriff, but it was likely less due to bunny discrimination and more due to the fact that she was her son’s biological mother. The little darling had her same eyes and ears, but the dark brownish-red colouring of his biological father.

Most people in town seemed to preach inclusion and celebrate her addition to the local law enforcement but Emma quickly caught on to the fact that there was little actual mingling between predators and prey animals. Success stories like her sheep roommate’s friendship with the wolf waitress were real, but also an exception to the rule in Storybrooke.

Emma herself had to admit that she still got somewhat weary when it came to certain apex predators in the little town. The mayor notwithstanding- she might not fully trust the woman but she had to admit little Henry looked well taken care of and seemed not to be afraid at all of his panther mother- there was also a dodgy weasel named August Booth, though she was pretty sure that was an alias, a smarmy coyote called Keith Nottingham, always in and out of jail for disorderly conduct and public intoxication and Mr Gold, an actual fucking lion. She had no problem with big cats, had met some great tigers and cougars back in the city, but something about Mr Gold screamed “danger” to her. Something in the way he moved, in how he seemed to hide some latent feral streak behind his impeccable suits and polite manners. 

She was particularly worried about his intentions regarding the town’s sweet okapi librarian. Okapis were rare, usually shy creatures, but Belle French was sweet and kind and way too trusting, going as far as trying to socialise even with the town’s most irascible carnivore. And Gold seemed… interested. His pupils would dilate when he watched her walk away, his whole frame tensing, as if fighting the urge to crouch down and stalk.

And stalk her he did. More often than not if Belle was out and about Mr Gold was often nearby, eyes fixed, claws out and nose scenting the air. Though Emma prided herself in her open-mindedness she could not help but think Mr Gold was likely to snap any given day and do something completely feral and inexcusable.

For that very reason she added the library to her evening round, making sure she popped by to say hi to the librarian and make sure she was alone and safe. But when she walked into the main reading room on a Friday evening something wasn’t quite as it should be. Her nose felt it first, the strong whiff of pheromones and sweat in the air. She cocked her ears, using them to pick out a very faint sound of claws against the linoleum floor, the sort of sound that set off her prey instincts alarmingly. Gun out she moved slowly till she saw the plumed tip of Mr Gold’s tail swishing from side to side frantically. A second later there was a deafening roar as Mr Gold pounced at something just behind the Asian Art section. There was a tremulous, moaned “Mr Gold!!!” in the librarian’s unmistakable accent before the room filled with a sort of purring sound. Though lions couldn’t very well purr, Emma knew that, they could make a sort of contented rumbling sound when happy. Faced with all the evidence she needed or wanted Emma hopped quickly forward, determined to save the reckless little librarian.

“This is Storybrooke PD, paws up!”

She had prepared herself for a possible sighting of blood, maybe even something less palatable, but nothing could’ve actually prepared her for what she saw: Mr Gold, no shoes, pants half-undone, golden torso bared, on top of Belle French, whose striped legs were wrapped around his powerful shoulders as he licked her, making no protest when the librarian used his glorious mane of hair to direct his mouth one way or the other.

Once both of them registered her shout they turned her attention towards her, Miss French making a small sound of protest when Mr Gold turned his head away from his appointed task. He tried to speak but had to pause to thoroughly lick his muzzle clean from…

Oh, God.

She had completely and utterly misread things in the worst possible way. She was sort of thankful when Mr Gold gathered the okapi close, covering her nakedness from the deputy sheriff. The okapi herself seemed more upset at having her fun time interrupted than at being naked in front of Emma.

“Miss Swan, if you’d be ever so kind…”

Mr Gold’s voice was far from the cultured drawl he seemed to favour, rumbly and thick instead, but still intelligible.

“Yes, right… Err, have a nice evening.”

She turned around and practically fled the scene, hands on her over-sensitive ears to make sure she heard nothing until she was safely outside the library.


End file.
